Caltech Women’s Basketball Edges Westcliff in Home Duel

The Caltech women’s basketball team downed Westcliff University on Tuesday, 47-46, in an afternoon contest at Braun Gymnasium. It was a strong showing for Caltech, who won the first three quarters and fought off a late surge from the Warriors to secure the victory.

With the win, the Beavers improve to 5-1 in nonconference play and 5-2 when facing opponents at home.

Action tipped off at 1 p.m. and the Beavers quickly earned the game’s first points, as senior guard/forward Kathryn Edwards (Centennial, Colo. / Arapahoe) followed up a missed jumper with an offensive rebound and putback to give Caltech the 2-0 advantage.

The team’s two-point lead soon grew to six at 6-0 as first-year guard Kyra Phaychanpheng (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills) connected on a good floater in the paint and Edwards drained a pair of free throws.

The Warriors found the bottom of the net on the following possession but the Beavers stayed in front for the remainder of the period.

Caltech entered the second quarter with a 13-8 lead and later went ahead by as many as 12 as Phaychanpheng finished on a good layup in the paint with one minute to go in the half to make it 24-12.

The Beavers went ahead by as many as 13 in the third quarter after the Beavers forced a turnover and Edwards connected on a good layup to make it 34-21; the team ultimately settled for a nine-point advantage at the end of the quarter.

The Warriors whittled the Caltech lead down to one by the 4:32 mark of the fourth quarter before they picked up their first lead of the game on a made layup to make it 46-45 with 1:50 to go. That layup, however, served as Westcliff’s final points of the game, as Caltech forced two Warrior turnovers and came up with three other massive defensive stops.

A perfect 2-for-2 outing at the free throw line from senior guard Kodie Vondra (Livingston, Mont. / Park) put Caltech on top 47-46 after the Beaver drew a shooting foul; Caltech forced the Warriors into two off-target shots in the final seconds as time expired and the Beavers escaped with the win.

Edwards led all players from either team in points (22), blocks (four) and rebounds (16), the latter of which served as a season high. The senior went 8-for-18 from the field and made six free throws; she collected seven offensive boards and nine defensive ones. The standout added three steals and dished out one assist.

Vondra ended the contest with 10 points after making a pair of 3-pointers and four free throws; she had two assists and three steals to go with one block. Phaychanpheng went 3-for-6 from the field for six points to go with five boards and a steal.

The team corralled 38 rebounds to 20 from Westcliff; they had six steals to the visitors’ two. Caltech made 12 free throws to the Warriors’ five.

The Beavers scored 20 points off turnovers and 13 second-chance points while limiting the guests to just six second-chance points. They never let Westcliff lead by any more than one point.

Next up for head coach Annie Tarakchian and the squad is a road trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the program will compete in the Puerto Rico Classico. Caltech faces off against the College of Saint Benedict this Monday, Dec. 16 before clashing with Alverno College on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Both tipoff times are to be determined; stay tuned to GoCaltech.com for more information.

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